SAN FRANCISCO—The first residential building of the Hope SF Potrero Hill Master Plan project opened on Thursday, May 9. Mayor London Breed, Board of Supervisor Shamann Walton and other community members celebrated the opening of the 71-unit affordable housing development located at 1101 Connecticut Avenue.
According to the Mayor’s Office, the Potrero Hill Master Plan is a comprehensive effort to rebuild 619 units of distressed public housing and create over 1,000 new homes with a range of affordability, community facilities, retail, open space, and neighborhood services. Once the final of five construction and development phases is completed in 2029, the Potrero Hill Master Plan will finish with 1,400 to 1,700 units, where 65 percent of them being affordable.
“As someone who grew up in public housing, I can remember how bad the conditions were back then and I am extremely proud of San Francisco’s commitment to rebuilding and preserving our public housing units,” said Mayor Breed. “Over the coming years, we are going to fulfill our promise to the residents here at Potrero Hill, and transform this community so that all of them have the homes and the community they deserve.”
The building located at 1101 Connecticut Avenue includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Fifty-three of the apartments accommodate residents who are moving directly from Potrero public housing into the new building, 18 units serve low-income households who do not currently reside at Potrero Annex/Terrace, and one unit is for the on-site manager. Amenities include a large community room and courtyard, a homework room, laundry facilities, services and management offices, and bike parking. The development is pursuing a LEED Gold certification.
“I am extremely thrilled to see the first units of brand new housing here in Potrero Hill under HOPE SF. I remember back in 2003 (when I was working at the Potrero Hill Family Resource Center) having conversations about new housing right here in community and here we are 16 years later, fulfilling a promise. As we enter into the next phase of construction here in Potrero Hill, these first units are the example of what we can do,” said Supervisor Walton.
San Francisco’s HOPE SF initiative is the nation’s first large-scale community development aimed to disrupting intergenerational poverty, reducing social isolation, and forming vibrant mixed-income communities without mass displacement. Two of the four sites – Alice Griffith and Hunters View – have largely completed their public housing transformation. The other two sites – Potrero Hill and Sunnydale – are at the initial stages of the multi-year, multi-phase transformation process. Once completed, the re-envisioned Potrero Hill and Sunnydale communities will be mixed-income, service-enriched communities, affordable to more than 3,000 low-income and middle-class families, and developed according to the non-displacement principles of the Mayor’s HOPE SF initiative.
“The vision has been to transform the physical environment as well as to improve opportunities for current and future residents of South Potrero,” said Cynthia A. Parker, President and CEO of BRIDGE Housing. “We’re so proud to have worked with the community and our partners to reach this major milestone, and we look forward to many more celebrations to come.”
The master developer is BRIDGE Housing, who in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and the San Francisco Housing Authority (SFHA), was selected to transform Potrero into a vibrant, unified mixed-income community. Financial partners for the development include the City and County of San Francisco, San Francisco Housing Authority, Citi Community Capital, Wells Fargo, Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, California Tax Credit Allocation Committee and California Debt Limit Allocation Committee. The architects are Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP, Y.A. Studio, and the general contractor is Cahill Contractors.
“It was exciting to be one of the first residents to move into 1101 Connecticut,” said Johnnie Ledbetter, who has lived in Potrero public housing for nearly a decade. “I thank everybody for their support in making the transition. I’m looking forward to building a future here and doing everything I can do to help grow our community.”
“As a leading affordable housing investor and lender, we are thrilled to be making a long-term investment in this neighborhood and others throughout the City. We applaud BRIDGE Housing, the Mayor’s Office of Housing, the Housing Authority, and the longtime residents of Potrero Hill on their collaborative effort to strengthen this community. We are proud to be a partner,” said Senior Vice President for Wells Fargo’s Community Lending and Investment, Daniel Perl.
